Michael H. Hecht

Michael H. Hecht
Alma materPrinceton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University
Known forMicroscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer, Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment, Event Horizon Telescope
AwardsNASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Scientific career
FieldsPlanetary Science, Surface Science
InstitutionsJet Propulsion Laboratory, Haystack Observatory
Websitewww.haystack.mit.edu/researcher/mike-hecht/
This article is about the American scientist. For other people, see Michael Hecht (disambiguation).

Michael H. Hecht is a research scientist, associate director for research management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory,[1] and former deputy project director of the Event Horizon Telescope.[2] He served as lead scientist for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer instrument on the Phoenix Mars lander,[3] and as principal investigator for the Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE) instrument on the Mars 2020 rover.[4]

Career

Hecht obtained an A.B. in Physics from Princeton University, an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1982.[5]

Hecht joined the staff of California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1982,[6] where he researched microelectromechanical systems, surface and interface science, scientific instrument development, and planetary science.[5] He co-invented the Ballistic Electron Emission Microscopy system[7] and published several highly-cited papers on metal-semiconductor interfaces,[8][9] for which he received the newly-renamed Lew Allen Award for Excellence in 1990.[6][10] At JPL, as the supervisor of the Microdevices Laboratory's In-Situ Exploration Technology Group,[11] he developed the concept for the Deep Space 2 micro-landers,[12] which flew to Mars in 1999.[13] He was later named the project manager, co-investigator, and project scientist for the Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment (MECA) instrument for the cancelled Mars Surveyor 2001 mission.[5][14] The MECA instrument was later flown as the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer on the Phoenix mission to Mars in 2007,[15] with Hecht as lead scientist and co-investigator, and was instrumental in the discovery of perchlorate in Martian soil.[16][17] Based on that work, Hecht published highly-cited papers on the chemistry of Martian soil and the existence of water on Mars,[18][19][20][21] and was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2010.[22]

After almost 30 years at JPL, Hecht was appointed as an associate director of MIT's Haystack Observatory.[23] In 2014, the MOXIE instrument, for which Hecht is the principal investigator, was selected as one of the instruments on the Perseverance rover for the Mars 2020 mission.[24][25][26] In 2019, Hecht was one of the scientists awarded the 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for his work with the Event Horizon Telescope to produce the first image of a supermassive black hole.[27][28]

References

  1. ^ "Scientists Reveal First Image Ever Made Of A Black Hole, Thanks To MIT". News. 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  2. ^ "A year after the first black hole image, the EHT has been stymied by the coronavirus". Science News. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  3. ^ Kerr, Richard A. (2008-09-30). "Phoenix Finds Signs of Once-Liquid Water on Mars". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  4. ^ Strickland, Ashley (2019-12-27). "Four ways the Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for a manned mission". CNN. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  5. ^ a b c Wingate, Lory Mitchell (5 August 2014). Project management for research and development : guiding innovation for positive R & D outcomes. Boca Raton, FL. ISBN 978-1-4665-9630-6. OCLC 884012699.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ a b "ASK Talks with Dr. Michael Hecht". ASK Magazine. NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership. 2003-06-01. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  7. ^ Haggerty, James J. (1995). Spinoff 1994 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Space Access and Technology, Commercial Development and Technology Transfer Division. ISBN 0-16-045368-2. OCLC 664389243.
  8. ^ Grunthaner, P. J.; Hecht, M. H.; Grunthaner, F. J.; Johnson, N. M. (1987-01-15). "The localization and crystallographic dependence of Si suboxide species at the SiO2/Si interface". Journal of Applied Physics. 61 (2): 629–638. Bibcode:1987JAP....61..629G. doi:10.1063/1.338215. ISSN 0021-8979.
  9. ^ Hecht, M. H. (1990-07-01). "Photovoltaic effects in photoemission studies of Schottky barrier formation". Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics Processing and Phenomena. 8 (4): 1018–1024. Bibcode:1990JVSTB...8.1018H. doi:10.1116/1.585023. ISSN 0734-211X.
  10. ^ "The Lew Allen Award for Excellence Recipients". scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  11. ^ Space Microelectronics. Center for Space Microelectronics Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. 1997.
  12. ^ Hecht, Michael (15 January 1996). Microinstruments and micro electromechanical systems in support of Earth and space science in the new millennium. 34th Aerospace Sciences Meeting & Exhibit. Reno, Nevada. doi:10.2514/6.1996-698. hdl:2014/23645.
  13. ^ Conway, Erik M., 1965- (30 March 2015). Exploration and engineering : the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the quest for Mars. Baltimore. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-4214-1605-2. OCLC 904420957.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Kounaves, Samuel P.; Lukow, Stafan R.; Comeau, Brian P.; Hecht, Michael H.; Grannan-Feldman, Sabrina M.; Manatt, Ken; West, Steven J.; Wen, Xiaowen; Frant, Martin; Gillette, Tim (24 July 2003). "Mars Surveyor Program '01 Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment wet chemistry lab: A sensor array for chemical analysis of the Martian soil". Journal of Geophysical Research. 108 (E7). American Geophysical Union: 13-1 – 13-12. Bibcode:2003JGRE..108.5077K. doi:10.1029/2002JE001978. PMID 14686320.
  15. ^ Kounaves, Samuel P.; Hecht, Michael H.; West, Steven J.; Morookian, John-Michael; Young, Suzanne M. M.; Quinn, Richard; Grunthaner, Paula; Wen, Xiaowen; Weilert, Mark; Cable, Casey A.; Fisher, Anita (2018-02-07). "The MECA Wet Chemistry Laboratory on the 2007 Phoenix Mars Scout Lander". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 114 (E3). Bibcode:2009JGRE..114.0A19K. doi:10.1029/2008JE003084. ISSN 2169-9097.
  16. ^ Boyle, Alan (2008-08-06). "Scientists: Martian soil similar to Chile's desert". msnbc.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  17. ^ Chang, Kenneth (2009-03-16). "Blobs in Photos of Mars Lander Stir a Debate: Are They Water?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  18. ^ Hecht, M. H.; Kounaves, S. P.; Quinn, R. C.; West, S. J.; Young, S. M. M.; Ming, D. W.; Catling, D. C.; Clark, B. C.; Boynton, W. V.; Hoffman, J.; DeFlores, L. P. (2009-07-02). "Detection of Perchlorate and the Soluble Chemistry of Martian Soil at the Phoenix Lander Site". Science. 325 (5936): 64–67. Bibcode:2009Sci...325...64H. doi:10.1126/science.1172466. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19574385. S2CID 24299495.
  19. ^ Smith, P. H.; Tamppari, L. K.; Arvidson, R. E.; Bass, D.; Blaney, D.; Boynton, W. V.; Carswell, A.; Catling, D. C.; Clark, B. C.; Duck, T.; DeJong, E. (2009-07-03). "H2O at the Phoenix Landing Site". Science. 325 (5936): 58–61. Bibcode:2009Sci...325...58S. doi:10.1126/science.1172339. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19574383. S2CID 206519214.
  20. ^ Hecht, Michael H. (2001-10-19). "Metastability of Liquid Water on Mars". Icarus. 156 (2): 373–386. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6794.
  21. ^ Yen, A. S.; Kim, S. S.; Hecht, M. H.; Frant, M. S.; Murray, B. (2000-09-15). "Evidence That the Reactivity of the Martian Soil Is Due to Superoxide Ions". Science. 289 (5486): 1909–1912. Bibcode:2000Sci...289.1909Y. doi:10.1126/science.289.5486.1909. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 10988066.
  22. ^ "NASA Agency Honor Awards 2010" (PDF). NASA. May 11, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  23. ^ "Oscar On Mars: Fact Checking 'The Martian' With The Scientists Sending MOXIE To Mars". www.wbur.org. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  24. ^ Extance, Andy; Chemistry World. "Next Mars Rover Will Make Oxygen from CO2". Scientific American. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  25. ^ Strickland, Ashley (27 December 2019). "Four ways the Mars 2020 rover will pave the way for a manned mission". CNN. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  26. ^ Hoffman, Jeffrey A.; Hecht, Michael H.; Rapp, Donald; Hartvigsen, Joseph J.; SooHoo, Jason G.; Aboobaker, Asad M.; McClean, John B.; Liu, Andrew M.; Hinterman, Eric D.; Nasr, Maya; Hariharan, Shravan; Horn, Kyle J.; Meyen, Forrest E.; Okkels, Harald; Steen, Parker (2022-09-02). "Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)—Preparing for human Mars exploration". Science Advances. 8 (35): eabp8636. Bibcode:2022SciA....8P8636H. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abp8636. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 9432831. PMID 36044563.
  27. ^ "Breakthrough Prize – Winners Of The 2020 Breakthrough Prize In Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics And Mathematics Announced". breakthroughprize.org. 2020-09-05. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  28. ^ The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration; Kazunori Akiyama; Antxon Alberdi; Walter Alef; Keiichi Asada; Rebecca Azulay; Anne-Kathrin Baczko; David Ball; Mislav Baloković; John Barrett; Dan Bintley (2019-04-10). "First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IV. Imaging the Central Supermassive Black Hole". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 875 (1): L4. arXiv:1906.11241. Bibcode:2019ApJ...875L...4E. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab0e85. ISSN 2041-8205.